Written in the Stars (Christina Coryell) – Review

~ About the Book ~

Roundabout these parts, dirt roads don’t just get you from point A to point B. They intersect to create a maze of life often missed when outsiders drive through a sleepy town. The number on the population sign might seem insignificant, but a few short steps from the beaten path, there’s more than meets the eye.
Look a little closer… That sleek out-of-town convertible is bringing former pageant queen Brooke Langdon back into town for the first time in a decade. She’s dragging nothing with her but the hyphen in her last name. Gatlin Moore is running his tractor along the fence line, spending his days keeping up his parents’ farm instead of living out his dreams in Nashville. The sheriff is pulling into Holly Christian’s driveway, preparing to tell her that her life’s about to crumble. And Hunter Pearce, the guy everyone calls when they need something fixed? He’s racing to Holly’s place too, wondering if things are too broken to put back together.
Welcome to Hope Canyon. This is our backroads story.
Genre:  Women’s Fiction/Romance
Release date:  22 August 2017
Pages:  316
Publisher:  Independent

Amazon US  //  Amazon AU  //  iBooks  //  Goodreads

~ Excerpt ~

Something was wrong.
Holly knew it with every fiber of her being, like that weird sixth sense she had that told her when lightning bugs would be illuminating the dusky sky. The color of the atmosphere around her would change ever so slightly, and she would start anxiously watching the grass for the little boogers to begin darting up into the air, putting on a show.
Whatever this was, it had nothing to do with lightning bugs.
If someone were to break in through the back door, her dog Skittles would destroy the place with his weak bladder. Not that a person would try to pull anything roundabout her neck of the woods, where everybody and their brother packed heat. Her eyes nervously darted to the shotgun above her doorframe, held up by strategically placed nails. She’d never used the gun for anything other than taking out that snake lurking around the premises, waiting for her dog to get a little too close. She wasn’t too keen on using it now if the need presented itself, although it had nothing to do with her aim. That was top notch. If anyone doubted it, they could ask the snake.
This wasn’t an ordinary snake in the grass though. Whatever it was, she sensed it in her bones, and she didn’t like it one bit.
Nobody would get in through the back door, she assured herself. She’d locked it on the knob and the little chain up above, which she knew because she’d already checked it twice. And Skittles wouldn’t be tearing up the place either—the little Havanese was tucked away in his crate for safe keeping.
Even the zipper on her jeans was secure . . . she’d checked that more than once too. Most recently while she peered at her reflection in the mirror for at least the tenth time, but she looked down once more for good measure. Yep, right where it needed to be.
Her eyes darted back up to meet themselves in the mirror. It must have been nerves, that was all. Of course she’d have a hard time following through when it actually came down to it.
“You can do this,” she whispered, smoothing the ends of her shoulder-length blond hair. She couldn’t remember the last time she had taken so much time on her appearance, or the last time he looked quite so pulled together, for that matter. The center of her bottom lip shimmered a bit when she twisted, the light meeting the sparkle in her lip gloss.
With a determined nod at her reflection, she grabbed her purse, took one last look around the room, and crossed to the front door. But before she fully committed to stepping out into the night, Holly Christian drew open the drawer of the beaten-up desk, slid the diamond ring off her left hand, and tucked it safely inside.

~ Review ~

I was sucked into this story before the dust in the prologue even had a chance to settle. Christina Coryell may as well have dangled a carrot at the top of each page, because like the most compliant donkey you’ve ever met—actually, no, I take that back. I don’t find that a particularly flattering metaphor. Analogy. Whatever. What I’m trying to say is, I could not stop turning the pages. From the very first scene I could sense that these characters had stories to tell, and all I could do to satisfy my curiosity was to keep reading and wait for their stories to unfold, page by page.
There are four main characters in this story (five if you count the silent character—you’ll understand what I mean by that when you read the story), but the story focuses most on Brooke’s and Holly’s stories. Both girls are at a crossroads in their lives, responding to circumstances that have been thrust upon them. But in many ways, the last ten years of their lives have been building to this point, so it’s not just about dealing with the here and now, it’s also about processing everything that has led to the here and now—the emotions, the decisions, the regrets, the ‘what ifs’—and working out ‘what next?’
Of course, the emotions, the decisions, the regrets, the ‘what ifs’—possibly even the ‘what next?’—are at least partly tied up in Gatlin’s and Hunter’s stories, and these are two guys I could definitely stand to spend more time with; loyal, hardworking, but not immune to responding out of hurt or a need to protect themselves. But then, if there’s one thing that has sold me on every single book of Christina Coryell’s that I’ve read, it’s her characters. They’re authentic, original, sometimes quirky, sometimes ordinary, but always extremely engaging.
But really, Coryell’s writing, her stories, AND her characters are engaging across the board. The romance in this story was tentative, but so sweet, and there was one scene in particular that left me bereft of breath. Oh, how I want more of these characters!
Don’t rob yourself of the opportunity to get to know these characters and hear their backroads story. I’m eagerly awaiting the conclusion!
I received a copy of this novel from the author. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.

~ About the Author ~

USA Today bestselling author Christina Coryell was born and raised in southwest Missouri, where she lives with her husband and children. She had plenty of people tell her that her degree in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing would be useless. They were probably right. Added to her dual major in History, she became the least likely candidate for nearly every career on the planet, save being a writer. That suits her just fine.
Christina has written from the back hatch of an SUV, in a lawn chair while at soccer practice, in the front seat of her car, with kids climbing on her, and often with extremely loud noise in the background. At least half of her books have been written during baseball games.
She believes great fiction mirrors life, and great life contains a little humor, so it’s difficult not to sprinkle a little funny business throughout her work. Oh…and character is everything.

Connect with Christina:  Website  //  Facebook  //  Twitter